


The Night Of

by mcgarrygirl78



Series: Keep on Loving You [1]
Category: Law & Order: SVU
Genre: Drama, Episode: s18e01 Terrorized, F/M, Romance, Spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-22
Updated: 2016-09-22
Packaged: 2018-08-16 16:16:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,803
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8109070
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mcgarrygirl78/pseuds/mcgarrygirl78
Summary: He was affirmative and safe but never boring.  She wouldn’t be afraid of losing him if he wasn’t worth losing.





	

**Author's Note:**

> 50 stories in, I'm closing the Feels Like Heaven series. I'm holding on to the hope Tuckson will be endgame. This is their first adventure after they’ve figured that out…mostly.

“Noah is sound asleep.” Ed walked into the bedroom. “What will you have; ice cream, wine, or tea?”

“I want a little Captain.” Liv replied.

“Morgan?”

“Tucker. C'mere, you, we haven’t had a lot of chance to talk.”

She opened her arms and Ed walked into them. He let out the most content sigh that had ever come from his diaphragm. What was it about Olivia’s arms? When they were around him Ed didn’t think he had ever been as loved in his life. He could feel her strength, her warmth, her grace, and her vulnerability. He could feel her love. And most of the time he never wanted to let go.

“I want to hear all about this new unit. Are you taking the job?”

“I think so, it’s right up my alley. I spent so many years seeing the worst of people, maybe with this unit I can see something else. Might be nice in my twilight years.”

“Twilight years?” Liv looked at him. “Don’t talk like that.”

“Well I'm not a young man anymore, I can't do this forever. But it’s nice to be someplace where I can end it all on a good note. Sadly, there are a lot of cases in this unit both old and not so much. I have a lot of experience and I can bring a view that might be needed.”

“Will you be running the unit.” Liv sighed as she ran her fingers through his silver hair. “You are a Captain now.”

“I honestly don’t know. I don’t think so, though I will be its most senior member. There's room for everyone. Territorial pissings have never been my thing. Don’t say a word.”

“I wasn’t going to say anything.” She laughed.

“I know you better than that, Olivia Benson.”

“Yeah you do.”

They were quiet for a while, lying together in the bed they had been sharing for months. This was a relationship, this was what she always wanted. Olivia was honest when she said she feared it wouldn’t last but she couldn’t put her finger on why. She and Ed were on the same path, on the same page so often. He left IAB and she didn’t think the CIU would cause much conflict in their personal lives. 

He was her superior, which was technically against the rules, but he wasn’t her immediate superior so that was a bit of a loophole. He was a strong man, a great father, a friend, and a lover. They baked cookies together, watched movies, parented Noah, and had amazing shower sex. He held her in his arms when she cried and when she slept. The way he smiled at her always made Olivia smile back. 

He didn’t make promises that he'd later break. He didn’t make her feel like she was crazy if she brought up insecurities or problems. He was affirmative and safe but never boring. She wouldn’t be afraid of losing him if he wasn’t worth losing. Liv was happy. There were a million other things happening in her life, as usual, but she was happy. Who wouldn’t want to hold on to that with both hands?

“Dodds blames me for Mike’s death.”

“Aww baby, I'm sure he…”

“He said it right to my face, Ed.”

“What?” he sat up and looked at her. It had been nice, lying with his back against her chest, her heartbeat so calming after the week that had. But this was a big thing. “When?”

“In the middle of the investigation. We got into it in Barba’s office. Neither one of them gave a damn about Ana and what she'd been through. Dodds wanted blood for the death of another cop. Rafael knew that no one in the city cared about whether she was a victim, only what she had done. So I was on my own but I came out of my corner swinging. And Dodds swung back hard.”

“Did he really say that, Liv? Did he say he blamed you for what happened to Mike?”

“Yes. I told him that where Ana was concerned I was just doing my job and it was important. He told me that doing my job got his son killed.”

“Jesus.”

“Yeah.” She nodded. “I should have never…”

“Don’t say it.” Ed took her face into his hands. “Don’t say it tonight, OK? I know you're thinking it, you're always thinking it, but you can't say it tonight. Mike Dodds was a grown man and a cop. He did what he did because that’s what he was trained to do. The only person to blame for his death is the man who killed him.”

“They're my team…it’s my job to protect them, Ed.”

“I know. Baby, it happens. I wish there was something I could say that was more profound. I wish I could take that pain from your soul and carry it with me. I wish I could bury it deep somewhere we’d never find it. But I can't, and the woman you are would never let me. Mike isn't dead because of you and I know that my declaration won't stop the pain but it’s the God’s truth. And if William Dodds ever says anything like that to you again, let me know.”

“What do you plan on doing, meeting him in the schoolyard at 3 o’clock?” Liv asked, a sad smile crossing her face.

“Something like that.”

“You're not allowed to fight my battles.”

“Well he's not allowed to bully you either. And we may as well agree to disagree on the rest.”

“You're not getting the last word.” She said.

“Oh, I'm not?” Ed pulled her closer.

“No, and you're not kissing me either.” Olivia put her hand up in front of his face.

“But baby, I meant every word I said. _When I said that I loved you I meant that I love you forever_.”

“Oh God, don’t sing.” She laughed even though she didn’t want to.

“Don’t sing? _But I'm gonna keep on loving you, cuz it’s the only thing I want to do_.”

“Fine, fine, kiss me Tucker, but stop singing.”

Ed laughed, kissing her over and over again. Liv wrapped her arms around him and just held on.

“This week is over.” He whispered. “Something else will come next week and the week after that. That’s life and we’re going to live it.”

“Together?”

“I'm not going anywhere.” Ed looked into her eyes. “One of these days I'm going to get you to marry me, then you'll see.”

“Soon.” She sighed.

“No pressure; absolutely 100% no pressure. When you're ready we’ll know it.”

“How does one know when they're ready?”

Liv wasn’t sure she would ask but it was a question she really wanted the answer to. Surely everyone would answer differently but considering it would be Ed she was walking down the aisle with, his answer was kind of important to her.

“Because it’ll be the only answer to the question.” He replied.

“Was that cryptic as hell on purpose?”

“No. Hey, no pressure, OK. I mean that; I always mean what I tell you.”

“So I’ll know when I know?”

“Yeah.” Ed nodded. “I should walk the dog before it gets too late. I wanna have a little while just to hold you before we pass out from exhaustion.”

“So nothing is gonna happen before we pass out from exhaustion, Captain?”

“You tell me what you're in the mood for and I’ll make it happen.”

“This is going to sound strange.” Liv said.

“Oh, those are my favorites.”

“Sex and warm milk. I want sex and warm milk...separately.”

“I love you.” Ed kissed her nose.

“I love you too. Go and walk the dog; I’ll be waiting when you get back.”

Ed nodded, taking his time extracting himself from her embrace. It was never easy, hadn’t been since the first time she put her arms around him. Another tough week was over and they both made it through. Liv was still standing and he was about to embark on a brand new journey. There had been a lot of those lately. 

Ed didn’t think a man his age would still be making so many major decisions about the direction of his life. A little over a year ago nothing like this would've ever crossed his mind. A new job, a good woman, a family…Ed Tucker had been a man alone for some time. It wasn’t his favorite thing to be but he was used to it. The woman he loved didn’t come without her share of complications. 

But he loved her so much that all of those things could be worked out. Ed wanted to make sure Liv knew, knew that it wasn’t just about him holding her up or being a hero. She made him better, she and Noah. She made him listen more and observe the world. She made him love and experience things he’d long forgotten. 

She made him see things with a different set of values. She drove him crazy, mad as a hatter. She made him happy. She made him a father again. She made him. Was it strange to say that since on his next birthday Ed would be 54 years old? 

He wasn’t the same man he was before Olivia and that was OK by all parties involved. The core of him hadn’t changed but it was nice to feel different. To feel as if there was more to do, more to love, more to learn. That was all Olivia and Noah.

“I should be back in 15 minutes or so. Wait for me, my love.”

“With bated breath.” Liv smiled.

One more kiss and he was leaving the bedroom to get the dog. No doubt Ronin was in Noah’s room; he usually was until he was sure the toddler was good and asleep. He was as much of a protector as the man who owned him. She really had a good man. That wasn’t what Liv was struggling with anymore. 

Ed Tucker was one of the good guys. Now she just had to get used to being in a committed relationship with one. She had to stop waiting for the other shoe to drop or for the next storm to come. It might happen but if Liv made it her top priority, she would miss something good. She was tired of seeing the tail end of the good things. 

There was nothing that could stop the stress or the bad things that happened in the world. But she knew she didn’t have to go it alone. There was someone who loved her, trusted her, and wanted to have her back. No matter how crazy each week of the year was, it was so nice to end it with him.

***


End file.
